The Epcot International Festival of the Holidays will celebrate the Holiday Season in Epcot from November 18 – December 30, 2018. And an integral part of the Festival, for many Epcot guests, is the Candlelight Processional.
And booking will begin on Wednesday, July 11th for the Candlelight Processional Dining Packages! We also have the preliminary list of narrators!
Neil Patrick Harris Narrating the Candlelight Processional
You will be able to make your Advance Dining Reservation STARTING WEDNESDAY, JULY 11th online via disneyworld.com or by calling (407) WDW-DINE (939-3463). EDITOR’S UPDATE: Disney World Annual Passholders may book starting July 10, 2018 by calling (407) WDW-PASS.
The Candlelight Processional presents a retelling of the Christmas story by a celebrity narrator. The reading is accompanied by a robed choir and a full orchestra performing Christmas carols.
Candlelight Processional
The popular event takes place three times each evening throughout the holiday season at the America Gardens Theater in Epcot’s World Showcase, with showtimes at 5:00, 6:45, and 8:15 pm. This year, guests can see the performance from November 22 through December 30. This marks the first time the Candlelight Processional will begin on Thanksgiving Day!
2018 Epcot Candlelight Processional Narrators
The 2018 Narrator list is subject to change. So far, the following narrators are confirmed:
Chita Rivera: November 22-23, 2018
Neil Patrick Harris: December 3 -6, 2018
Whoopi Goldberg: December 7-9, 2018
Blair Underwood: December 13-14, 2018
Gary Sinise: December 15-17, 2018
Pat Sajak: December 18-20, 2018
Edward James Olmos: December 24-25, 2018
Jodi Benson: December 26-27, 2018
MORE NARRATORS TO BE ANNOUNCED
An American Sign Language interpreter translates the event for the hearing impaired.
Candlelight Processional Dining Package
The Candlelight Processional is an incredibly popular holiday event. For guaranteed seating, the Candlelight Processional Dining Package will be available for booking starting July 11th.
Akershus Royal Banquet Hall
Packages include a meal at a participating restaurant (most are in Epcot, but two are in the Epcot Resort Area). Click here to see which restaurants will be included on the 2018 Candlelight Processional list and their prices! Booking a package entitles each person in the party to a guaranteed seat (though not necessarily covered seating) at the evening’s performance of the Candlelight Processional.
2018 Packages will be available for breakfast, lunch, and dinner seatings. Breakfast packages will start at $38.00 for adults ($22.00 per child); lunch packages will start at $50.00 for adults ($16.99 per child); and dinner packages start at $55.00 for adults ($16.99 per child).
For the full list of restaurants — and prices — visit our Candlelight Processional Dining Package Page!
We will continue to update you with the latest information about this special event as soon as it’s available!
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Are you hoping to attend the Candlelight Processional during the holidays? Please let us know with a comment!
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What time on the 11th can we start calling for the dining package for the Candlelight Processional?
Hi AJ,
Do you know if booking begins st the usual ADR online booking time of 6am on July 11th?
Many thanks!!
What if I already have a breakfast reservation at Ale & Conpass during one of those days – can that reservation be converted to a Candlelight Processional Dining Package?
Is it necessary to have already purchased park tickets in order to book the package?
Thanks for all the great info! My family will be at Epcot on December 12th. I do not see any scheduled narrator for the 10th through the 12th. Is there no Processional those nights? Or did these dates get accidentally overlooked? I hope we get to see it!! Thanks for the help!
Katie, Disney has not released the narrators for all of the nights of Candlelight Processional. On their official webpage, the narrator for December 10-12 remains To Be Determined. We always update when narrators are announced, so keep checking!
Cindy, you should be able to book Candlelight Processional without having park tickets. If there’s any issue doing it online, you can always call!
Elizabeth, you will want to call Disney Reservations when the packages open on Wednesday. I would expect they can make it happen!
Carol and Wendy, as a general rule, Disney Reservations opens at 7AM eastern time. You can always try calling (or going online) earlier, though!
Where will the candlelight presentation be held in EPCOT?
David, the Candlelight Processional is performed at the American Gardens Theater across the walkway from the America pavilion.
Hello DFB,
Side note: we love DFB YouTube posts and newsletters! We are planing on which day to enjoy The Candlelight Processional either 11/29 weekday or 11/30 weekend. Which of the three show times are the least crowded? Any bit of insight would be great.
Thank you.
Daniel, thanks for the compliment! We typically see Epcot festivals busier on weekends, but as for which show time is least crowded: they’re all jam-packed, as far as we’ve seen, so we can’t really say any one time is better than another. You might look into the dining packages to see if any of them work for you to score you a reserved seat for the show. Sorry we couldn’t be more help!
When can we reasonably expect the remaining narrators to be announced?
Annette, in the past we haven’t seen the full list until as late as October, but we hope to see it sooner than that!
Is there a cost to go to the candlelight procession if your not dining?
John, there is no price to attend the Candlelight Processional! But you’ll want to plan your day so you can wait for it!
There is still no narrator announced for 11/30, right? Only 26 days until the magic begins and I need to decide if we are going 11/30 or 12/03.
I agree with Alex, I am still waiting to see who is the narrator for Dec 1 I am waiting to decide between that and Dec 5. and would like to release one of the dining packages I am holding. I know there is someone waiting and hoping to secure a package and I would like to finalize my other dining plans .
Alex, that’s right. We’ll post when we see it!